Lee Jun-seok: "Ahn Cheol-soo Can Also Be Bad, Strange, and Ugly Depending on Perspective"

by Lim Juhyeong

Published 29 Oct.2021 20:29(KST)

"Are You Going to Become the Unified Opposition Candidate or Take a Both-Sides Approach? Answer Now"

Lee Jun-seok, Leader of the People Power Party / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, saying, "He just needs to answer whether he intends to become the unified opposition candidate or if he will take a middle-of-the-road stance." This was in response to Ahn referring to the upcoming presidential election as the "Nom Nom Nom (Bad Guy, Strange Guy, Ugly Guy) election."

On the 29th, on MBC Radio's "Pyo Chang-won's News High Kick," Lee said, "(Ahn) keeps talking about something like a 'third zone theory' and says things like 'Nom Nom Nom.' I don't know who he was referring to with 'Nom Nom Nom,' but from the public's perspective, he himself could be bad, strange, or ugly," he pointed out.

Ahn had said at a youth meeting held in Daegu that day, "This presidential election is a Nom Nom Nom election." He added, "The people are lamenting that they only see bad guys, strange guys, and ugly guys."

When asked by reporters whether his candidacy was imminent, he replied, "Nothing has been decided yet."

Ahn Cheol-soo, Leader of the People Party / Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding this, Lee said, "This person (Ahn) never answers with a 'yes' or 'no.' That's the problem," and criticized, "We asked later whether the People Power Party and the People Party would merge, telling him to answer with a clear 'yes' or 'no,' but there was no clear answer."

He continued, "I answer clearly with a 'Jongno no' on such matters." When the host asked about rumors of his candidacy in the Jongno by-election, Lee dismissed it, saying, "I am not running."

Lee directed at Ahn, "If you want to run, you need to be clear about your direction. When you previously took the third zone approach, you argued that the first and second parties were bad people and promoted a third-party candidate for new politics. But in the parliamentary election, didn't you effectively act as a satellite party of the conservative party and not field any district candidates?"